


When Fire Catches

by PossiblyAwesomeAO3



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Rare Drop, The RageGaming Crew
Genre: Dungeons and Dragons, I apologize in advance, I can't write fight scenes, Many of them, SO, but he has good intentions, captainfluke - Freeform, darion vs jeral, fire pun, generally just "oh shit", generationhollow - Freeform, he's doing his best i guess, i'm spending too much time on the tags, jeral's kind of a dick, like seriously stop it jeral we all know you aren't this sassy chill, many one-liners, natural3, oh shit darion fell over, oh shit jeral's bleeding, place your bets now, ragegamingvideos - Freeform, rare drop - Freeform, river gets hardly any screen time, river hums, seriously i should turn this is to my writing class for a grade or something, snarky jeral, sorry river i love you but yeah, the most revising i've ever done on a single piece, the rat story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 11:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8012566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PossiblyAwesomeAO3/pseuds/PossiblyAwesomeAO3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>INSPIRED BY RARE DROP'S NATURAL3 D&D CAMPAIGN. </p>
<p>"I've got a lot of names around here, thief, lowlife trash, dirty scumbag's a good one if you're feeling creative-"</p>
<p>"I wouldn't be smart with someone who's got a sword against your throat."</p>
<p>Darion has one plan in mind. Find the group that burned down the village, and do whatever it takes to bring them down. </p>
<p>He just didn't expect that whatever it took would include running into a sarcastic rogue sorcerer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Fire Catches

**Author's Note:**

> FLUKE ASKED FOR IT.
> 
> So...Jeral took his sweet time getting into the campaign, and I sort of came up with this idea for how he would be introduced while waiting. I think the tags say more about this than this does.
> 
> (Also I know Jeral's like 40 but I didn't know that when I had the idea so you'll have to deal with him being around 25 or so in this. Sorry.)

The both of them were a sight to behold.

His side was wrapped in a bandage, gashes stood out on his face and hands, and one of his eyes was swollen shut. Even with his injuries, he walked like they weren't there, his steps surefooted. Most eyes clung to the sword on his back, which had to be a little over half his height, and looked to be solid iron. A man like that practically gave off an aura of danger. If the danger wasn't him, there was certainly some of the kind around who he was looking for.

She walked through the crowd, seemingly unfazed by the stares she was attracting, a bounce in her step. She wore a dark hood over top of a sparkling ballgown, and dirt was smudged on her shoes. Pointy ears stuck out from underneath her dark hair, and she carried a dagger in her right hand, absentmindedly twirling it around. She hummed a quiet tune to herself as the both of them walked on.

"River, you've been humming the same damn song for twenty minutes." The man said, glancing to the side at her.

She shrugged. "It's a good song!"

"It might have been the first time, but definitely not the thirtieth."

"You just don't appreciate good music, Darion." She countered. "You never have."

He stopped, staring at her. "You've known me for three days."

"And you've never once voiced any sort of appreciation for my music taste."

"I think you've spent too much time in the presence of my mother." Darion sighed. "I've already got one woman yelling at me about manners, I don't need a second, if that's alright with you."

River paused for a moment, thinking to herself. "Buy me another rat on a stick and it's a deal."

"Fine." Darion muttered, pulling a few copper pieces out of his bag. "There. And don't you dare mention anything about the last one you bought. I’m not coughing up twenty gold pieces for a rat."

She grinned, taking the money from him. "Promise."

Suddenly, the sound of a vendor yelling caught both of their attention.

"Thief! That one stole my goods!"

Darion followed to where the vendor was pointing to see a man in a red cloak making a break for it, although nothing appeared to be in his hands. In seconds, the fair's small police force seemed to appear out of nowhere, chasing after him and gaining speed on him.

Suddenly, the man stopped. As he turned, Darion could properly see that the man also had a unique looking staff in his right hand, but he didn't hold it in the way most people Darion knew did, as if to say “ _I think better than all of you_.” He held it in a way that looked like he was ready to fight at any time. The man grinned, and before anyone could get any closer, he raised his hand quickly. A fireball suddenly erupted right in front of the police force, immediately catching onto a nearby vendor's stand.

Darion froze. He knew that tactic. He'd seen it just days before.

The police force were immediately distracted by the flames, and townspeople rushed to aid, trying to keep the fire from spreading, and the man turned away, continuing to run. The staff he had carried was somehow gone.

Darion noticed one more thing about him. A fading symbol on his back, one that was familiar to him.

"River, help with the fire. I'll be right back." Darion said, and River barely had time to give him a thumbs-up before he was gone.

**

Darion must have almost lost him about ten times. He was quick, that was for sure, and knew how to get away. He must have pulled this kind of thing before.

Darion dodged yet another civilian, mumbling a rushed “sorry” before continuing on, and he finally spotted the red cloak duck into an alleyway. Darion followed, pulling his sword from his back as he turned the corner to see the man standing there, his back turned to Darion.

“Hey!” Darion yelled, gaining the man’s attention.

He turned to face Darion, the hood still covering most of his face, and sighed.

“Why is it always one?” He muttered to himself, and the same staff he had held earlier, seemed to appear out of thin air into his hand. Without any warning, he sent a blast of fire straight at Darion’s chest.

Darion raised his sword, and the fire dissipated into smoke before even making contact. He looked up to see the other man wave his hand, and the smoke disappeared.

Darion must have looked confused, because the man grinned. “Why waste a shot when you know it won’t hit?”

There was a certain snarky tone in his voice, as if he’d fought a thousand times before and knew exactly what Darion’s next move would be.

Darion bolted, running straight for the man, and watched as the man held up his staff in defense. Darion didn’t abide by the man’s apparent way of doing things, and swung anyway, slamming the sharp edge of the blade directly on the staff. To his surprise, the staff stayed intact.

The man didn’t seem to have any snarky comments anymore, his smile gone as he focused. He pushed Darion backwards, backing up a bit as Darion regained his balance.

This time, the man struck first, jumping forward and aiming to hit Darion’s legs to knock him over, but the man wasn’t the only one with experience in combat.

Darion blocked him, the staff clanging off of his sword for the second time. The man lost his hold on his staff, and it clattered against the ground a few feet away.

The man ran for the staff as Darion tried to hit him, diving for it at the last second before Darion’s sword nearly took his legs off. Darion barely had time to wonder why he wasn’t using fire before the man got back to his feet and ran towards him again.

Darion didn’t block fast enough, and the man’s staff hit him in the face dead on, the pain from his previous injuries suddenly rushing back.

He ignored it, regaining his balance and tried to stab the man, but he ducked just the nick of time to avoid being impaled in the shoulder. Instead, Darion ended up slicing the man’s cheek, leaving a cut that immediately started leaving a trail of blood down his face. The man wiped it away, but his small effort was meaningless, the red trail starting up again in seconds. He didn’t seem to be bothered. Instead of attacking, he ran closer, moving in a sort of zig-zag so that Darion couldn’t properly hit him.

Fast. That’s what this guy was doing. Move fast, attack fast, get away. Actual damage wasn’t his priority.

Darion wasn’t exactly known for speed, but he sucked in a breath, and focused.

Before Darion had time to blink, the man was there, and aimed straight for Darion's side, right where a few bandages were visible.

Darion fell straight to the ground, and even though he was fairly certain the man hadn't cast any fire, his side felt like he had.

He looked up to see the man starting to back away, ready to run for it and get out of there while he could.

Darion gritted his teeth, pushing himself back up. "Not on my watch, you won't."

The man sighed, but instantly lunged for him. Darion was barely able to pick up his sword in time to block him again as the man swung at him once, and then twice. The second time, the man held the staff there, slowly pushing him backwards. The point of the staff closest to Darion’s face suddenly caught fire, and Darion could feel the heat on his nose.

“Looks like you couldn’t take the heat.” The man said, a grin on his face.

It would be a cold day in hell before Darion let another sorcerer beat him in a fight. Especially not one that made such horrible puns.

Darion summoned all the strength he could, and shoved his blade forward. The man, taken by surprise, lost his balance a little, giving Darion a chance to stand back up. Thsi time, Darion knew better than to hesitate even for a split second. He turned his sword in his hand, and slammed the hilt into the man’s stomach, knocking him over. Darion didn’t give the man a second to get back up, and held his sword to the man’s throat.

The man’s hood fell backwards, and Darion was finally able to get a decent look at what he looked like. He was paler than most, which was only exaggerated further in contrast to his dark hair. Even though his hair was cut short, it was choppy and looked as though he had done it himself while in a hurry with a spare dagger. Maybe he had. His eyes were the same shade of brown as his hair, and he had the same look of the younger boys Darion had seen in villages; like he was always looking for some kind of trouble to get himself into.

Despite the situation he was in, the man grinned. “Okay, so you're actually good. There’s a shocker.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Darion asked.

The man shrugged. “Most of you that manage to catch up with me fall down after one hit and don’t get back up fast enough. It’s embarrassing, really.”

Darion ignored the dig at the other knights. “Who are you?”

The man actually looked a little surprised. “You don’t know me?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Huh. You must be new around here if you don’t recognize me. Explains how you’re actually decent at combat.” The man said. “I’ve got a lot of names around here, _thief_ , _lowlife trash_ , _dirty scumbag_ ’s a good one if you’re feeling creative-“

“I wouldn’t be smart with someone who’s got a sword against your throat.” Darion said. “Answer the question.”

The man sighed. “Fine. Name’s Jeral.”

“Alright, Jeral.” Darion said. “I’ve got a few questions. What’d you steal?”

“Oh, great. An interrogator.” Jeral rolled his eyes. “Isn’t there supposed to be a good cop?”

“She’s busy putting out the fire you started.” Darion replied. “Unfortunately for you.”

“Guess so.” He said. “Bread. Just took some bread.”

“Why?”

“ _Why_? Why do you think, jackass? I was _hungry_. You know what being hungry is? Bet you don’t.”

“I know exactly what being hungry is like, but I never stole anything to fix the problem.”

“Then you’re an idiot.” Jeral said. “I only take what I need. Don’t see any problem with that.”

“If you need it so bad, you should try paying for it.” Darion said.

Jeral scoffed. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they aren’t exactly handing money out on street corners.”

"So get a job."

"They aren't handing those out, either."

Darion considered it for a second. "Fair point."

“I do like to think I’m convincing.”

Darion didn't continue to question about him stealing. That wasn't what was important to him at the moment. “Where’d you learn how to fight like that? With fire?”

Jeral’s expression suddenly changed. “That’s none of your business.”

“Really?” Darion asked. “That’s funny, because there was a group of mages I ran into a while back who used the very same tactics. You know what they did? They burned an entire fucking village to ashes. Casualties must be somewhere in the hundreds.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“I think you do.” Darion interrupted. “Because that symbol on the back of your cloak? Matches theirs. Spot. On.”

Jeral didn’t say anything, and looked like he had just now realized that there was a sword against his throat.

“So I think you should start talking.” Darion finished.

Jeral glared at him. “Bite me.”

“Or,” Darion said, unfazed. “I can just bring you straight to the other knights here and let them decide what to do with you. And something tells me it will not be pretty.”

That seemed to convince him.

“Alright, alright.” Jeral said, the snarky tone in his voice gone. “I know who you’re talking about, but I swear, I’m not with them anymore.”

“Anymore?”

“Look, my old man was a bit of a prick, okay? So I grew up with them, and they taught me how to do stuff like this-“

His hand suddenly caught fire, and before Darion could even jump, it disappeared.

“-And that was it. Point is, I left after everyone started abusing their power. There. You got your answers. Can I go now?”

“Abusing how?”

“ _Abusing how_? You ask some really stupid questions.” Jeral sighed. “Abusing exactly as you think. Taking more than the group needed and killing people, burning down houses if others caught them. Doesn’t exactly take a genius to piece it together.”

“But you expect me to believe you’re somehow different.”

“Hey, I may steal, but I’m not a killer.” Jeral said.

“You burned down a vendor’s stand. Possibly more than just one if they haven’t been able to stop it.”

“It’s just a little stand. It’s not someone’s _home_ , and besides, I cast one small enough to be a distraction, not to hurt anyone.”

“Again, you expect me to just believe you.”

“I didn’t use fire here, did I?” Jeral countered. “Aside from the little blast at the beginning, and right at the end, I didn’t use one flame. It’s because we’re in an _alleyway_. There are _houses_ here. I’m not going to responsible for taking away an innocent person’s life.”

Darion stopped, thinking about it for a second. If Jeral really had wanted to guarantee a getaway, there was no reason he couldn’t have just blasted the entire alleyway with fire and disappeared, burning down homes and possibly killing people in the process, along with Darion, but he didn’t.

Darion stared at him. After a while of being in his career, Darion had gotten pretty good at being able to tell when someone was lying. Something about the eyes and the expression overall really made it clear.

As far as Darion could see, Jeral didn’t seem to be lying.

“So, you were with them. How long?”

“I don’t know, I'd been with them as far back as I could remember. Left somewhere around... I think my eighteenth birthday?”

“So you know information.”

“Depends on what you mean by ‘information’.”

“I mean typical locations, their way of attacking, stuff like that.”

Jeral shrugged. “I guess so. Hey, would you mind letting me stand up? It’s kind of uncomfortable down here, and the giant sword’s not helping.”

Darion had an idea. It was stupid, it was risky, and if Jeral ever decided to betray him and River, he easily could. But it was the closest he’d gotten to any sort of lead so far. He couldn’t just pass it up.

“Tell you what.” Darion said. “I’ll let you get up, and I won’t turn you in.”

“What’s the catch?” Jeral asked.

“You have to join me and my friend, and help us track down your old group.”

Jeral seemed to consider it for a second. “Pass.”

“Fine. Spend the rest of your life in a dungeon.” Darion said. “And, just to let you know, the other guards in town seem to despise you. I get the feeling life for you will be far from pleasant. But if that’s your choice-“

“Wait.” Jeral interrupted. “Do you guys have food? Because the stuff around here keeps rising in price so no way in hell I have a chance at affording it, and everyone recognizes me now so I have to be stealthy, and I’m not too great at stealthy, and it’s starting to become a pain in the ass-“

Darion cut him off. “I don’t need all the details. Yes, we have food.”

Jeral looked conflicted for a few seconds, before finally speaking.

“Fine.”

“Good choice.” Darion said, and moved the sword away from Jeral’s neck. He extended his hand. Jeral hesitated a second, but took it, and Darion pulled him back to his feet.

“One last question.” Darion said. “What did you mean by ‘rising in price’?”

“Don’t get me started.” Jeral said, yanking his hood back over his head, obscuring most of his face from Darion's view. “If one idiot comes along and offers to pay one copper piece more than someone else in order to get the last piece of bread, the price goes up and up until the rest of us can’t afford anything. Doesn’t affect me too much, I know, but I know some people around town who aren’t as willing to try my methods, and the whole thing just really pisses me off, and-”

“Okay, I have known you for literally twenty minutes, and you already ramble more than anyone I have ever met.” Darion said. “Promise me something.”

“Already? You’re asking for commitment pretty damn fast.”

“Just one thing.” Darion said.

Jeral sighed. “Fine. Shoot.”

“Try not to kill River when you hear the story about the rat.”

**Author's Note:**

> We had a spy on the inside, that's right, hERCULES MULLIGA-wait. Jeral. It's Jeral. 
> 
> Annnnnnnnnnnnd Jeral ended up being practically the exact opposite of who I thought he was going to be. Typical.
> 
> Not bothered though, I definitely like the 13 year old Reaper Main's angsty emo mind trapped inside a 40 year old's body way better.


End file.
